Weekly rents for Portsmouth students ‘will increase’

STUDENTS in Portsmouth could pay almost £80 a week in rent this autumn as the cost of accommodation continues to rise, research suggests.

The city is ranked 12th out of 78 UK cities and towns whose rental rates have increased overall by three per cent compared with last year, according to a study by accommod ationforstudents.com.

The average rent is £67.11 a week – but in Portsmouth students face paying £77.77.

Students in Southampton and Chichester are considerably better off, as the figures suggest they will be expected to pay on average £65.12 and £70.15 respectively.

London is the most expensive city, where the average weekly rent is £108.03 and the cheapest area is Middlesbrough costing just £43.60 a week.

Simon Thompson, director of the website, said: ‘The rent increases for some cities reflect two key factors. One is the changing nature of accommodation coming on the market. The trend is for high-spec, better quality student accommodation, and some locations are leading the way in this area.

‘The other key factor is the popularity of some universities that puts pressure on the accommodation available.’

The study is based on the rents of 86,000 properties in 78 cities and towns.